tZero Secures Special Purpose Broker Dealer License In The US

According to Blockworks, tZero Group Inc. has obtained its special purpose broker dealer (SPBD) license in the United States, becoming the second company to achieve this milestone. Alan Konevsky, tZero's chief legal officer, emphasized the significance of this development, stating that it provides an opportunity to build the necessary infrastructure for regulated digital assets in the country. The license allows tZero to custody digital asset securities, similar to Prometheum Inc., which was the first to receive this type of license last year. Both companies are required to treat any custodied tokens as securities, regardless of the issuers' classifications. Konevsky expressed hope that the license, which took tZero three and a half years to secure, will pave the way for safe and regulated trading of digital asset securities in the US. He highlighted the importance of developing the right kind of regulated infrastructure to support digital asset security trading, aligning with the objective of treating these assets as regulated securities. A day after tZero's announcement, Prometheum revealed additional assets that will be supported on its newly-launched institutional custodian platform, including Optimism (OP) and The Graph (GRT). Prometheum had previously announced that its platform would include ETH, Uniswap (UNI), and Arbitrum (ARB). Konevsky stated that tZero will support the custody of any digital asset security that it can lawfully manage, following guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FINRA. This includes assets that were not initially issued as registered securities but are now deemed securities by the SEC, provided regulators establish a legal pathway for their trading by a broker dealer. Konevsky noted that such guidance has not yet been provided for the types of assets identified by Prometheum in its filings. He welcomed regulatory clarity on how to lawfully support these assets and expressed readiness to act on such guidance. Prometheum CEO Benjamin Kaplan mentioned that his firm is prepared to offer custody of digital asset securities through its SPBD. He stated that Prometheum is open for business for financial institutions, corporates, or institutional investors seeking a qualified custodian for ETH, ARB, UNI, OP, and GRT, and looks forward to expanding these offerings across a wide range of digital asset securities. tZero plans to launch its custody service early next year, starting with its own preferred stock, TZROP, which has been trading since 2019.